Fire and Blood
by Nyther53
Summary: Almost a decade after leaving Alagaesia, Eragon returns to help stop a rebellion. However years without Arya have left him cold, and angry. Can she redeem him? or will he become an even greater threat than Galbatorix?
1. Chapter 1

Warning: Don't read unless you have read Inheritance major spoilers etc. etc.

This fic actually started out very differently, but I kept getting different ideas and I kind of liked where they were going, so tell me what you think.

Eragon looked with contempt at the army arrayed before him. After years of peace King Orrin had decided to expand Surda's territory by attacking the Empire. Nasuada had called up her army, and upon her allies to respond to the aggression with a show of unity. An Army of Urgals, Elves, Dwarves, and even some werecats had come to support her own army against him. Eragon himself had left his seclusion to respond. He looked at the pitifully small Surdan Army, as he gathered his power about him. He had arrived some four hours ago, breaking a decade of seclusion and raising new Riders and dragons. He had brought two of the new Rideers with him to demonstrate to the world that the new order of Riders was not so weak as to allow such displays of aggression. He had briefly greeted the assembled heads of state, and then proceeded to deal with the threat. Saphira hovered between the armies, as he sought out the minds of the surdan spellcasters. With a word, he slew them all simultaneously. With another, he killed some 10,000 warriors. Three quarters of the Surdan Army simply slumped over, dead. He left King Orrin alive, at the head of his now dead army. Saphira dove at him, giving him just enough time to realize what had happened before she snatched him and his horse and flew them miles above the earth, and then simply let go. The screams of the Surdan king carried for miles before he hit the ground with a sickening crunch. Saphira made another pass, and bathed the retreating Surdans in a torrent of fire, leaving scant dozens alive to spread the tale. And then he simply left, and began the journey back to the island.

After a moment, he felt a challenge behind him. He recognized the touch of Arya's mind, and loosened Brisingr in its scabbard. "Eragon!" She screamed from Firnen's back as he closed the distance between them. To prove a point, Saphira increased her speed past what Firnen could endure, and only once he tired and slowed did she turn and allow him to catch up, and he ordered the two other Riders to go on ahead. "Eragon… What… I don't-" she was left speechless at the sheer ruthlessness and power of what he had just done.

"It is the duty of the Riders to keep the peace. Orrin broke it. I doubt anyone else will anytime soon." He said bluntly.

"What! Eragon what happened to you? You- you were… I …" She struggled for a moment before she whispered his true name between them, and was shocked when he did not react.

"You will find much has changed Arya. It was you who told me our duty is more important than our own happiness. So I have set aside the compassion that made me so weak before. I have embraced the power afforded to me, and as the leader of the Dragon Riders I will use it as I see fit. See that you do not interfere." He spoke the last words as Saphira turned around, and began to fly away. Arya watched him leave, again in stunned silence. What had happened to the man she had loved so much, to leave him sounding so very similar to the man they nearly sacrificed everything to destroy. She was torn about what to do next. She had never considered what would happen if Eragon became a threat yet there he was, and neither of the two Riders he had brought with him seemed surprised or concerned by his behavior.

She felt tears welling up in her eyes as he flew away, without giving her a moment's consideration. The man she had loved, the only man she had entrusted with her true name, had just _threatened _her. She let the tears fall, as she let his accusation sink in. She had done this to him. The day she refused to stay with him, as he had asked, his compassion had shriveled and died, leaving behind the soul of a man with the blood of thousands on his hands. She touched his mind briefly as he fled, and for a moment she felt the extent of his rage, and pain, and the hard black center where once he had been warm, and loving. After that split second he blocked his mind from her. And she saw without a doubt, that this was her fault.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys, so I realize I'm being ridiculous but I just recently decided to go back and start writing fanfics again so I wanted to continue this one even after so long. I've kind of forgotten where I was originally going with it so atm I'm slightly making it up as I go but please take a look, hopefully enjoy, and tell me what you think. Also telling me I'm an awful person for never finishing any of these is not unwarranted.

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><p>"<em>Eragon"<em>

The thought echoed unanswered in the empty chasm between them, the dark sphere they filled with pain and blood and fed nothing but time to grow. They had not spoken even to one another since meeting Arya. The silence was oppressive, permeating even the nearby minds of their young companions.

"Do you see?" Eragon asked sharply. Saphira sensed what he wanted and hoped the students would react quickly enough. But when a moment passed before their answer she knew what to do. Her wings banked drastically as she rapidly reversed her bulk and grabbed the young dragons in her powerful claws. The landscape darkened beneath them as she dove for the ground, holding all four of their students captive in her grip.

"_I asked you a question." _Eragon's voice thundered through their minds, sweeping away their attempts at defense. _" You must always be alert. Attentive. Even on long journeys you must be ready to react to anything. You must be prepared for attack, ready to close your minds in an instant. I could this very moment crush your minds and bodies in any number of ways. You are Dragon and Rider. This bond is your strength. But that bond makes you vulnerable to more pain than can possibly be imagined." _Saphira threw her wings out as the ground rushed up to meet them, flapping lazily to regain altitude. Spahira nudged him, and he finally receded from their minds as she loosened her claws without warning. The young dragons flailed wildly at first, struggling to determine up from down before they hit the ground. Eventually Veoddyn's grey-black scales righted themselves and lurched towards the sky. Saphira watched sadly as Voran managed to slow down enough to land rather than crash. As the four students approached Eragon sat in silence in his saddle, waiting.

Finally, Amalia straightened in her saddle and responded. "The answer to your question is that we must always sense danger before it strikes Eragon-elda." She didn't quite make eye contact with him, but she didn't cower away either. Eragon considered her answer as he looked at his student. Her shoulder length maroon hair was tied in a simple braid, and along with her steady, ice blue eyes and black riding leathers all spoke to her serious attitude.

"_And you Veoddyn?" _Saphira asked her dragon. _"Do you see?"_

"_We are vulnerable because of the love between us. I would betray you in an instant if Amalia was threatened." _The dragon replied, honestly.

The three dragons stayed nearly still, barely flapping their wings as they hovered in place waiting for what would happen next. Eragon looked to the other pair, a proud Kull ram named Beshnak. He and his deep purple dragon Voran answered as one "Your lesson is preparation Eragon-elda. We must always be prepared to kill, and Dragon and Rider together can meet any foe." Beshnak wore the

Eragon allowed no emotion to show on his face, but Saphira felt a single phrase echo through his mind. "It is far better to be taught to think critically and then be allowed to make your own decisions than to have someone else's notions thrust upon you." The darkness of his mind cleared for the first time since Nasuada asked for their presence. "You are all wrong. And you are all right. Beshnak, Voron. We must be ready to kill at a moment's notice to protect the peace. Orrin knew well the consequences of his actions, and all of Alagaesia had to know we would not be forgiving to those who broke the peace. But that was not the lesson." _"Amalia, Veoddyn. You were each correct, and together you were wrong." _Saphira added seamlessly. _"Dragon and Rider must think and act as one. Veoddyn. You fear losing your rider above all else. You are partnered for life, each incomplete without the other. Live like it. Treasure each moment together. Learn well what we have to teach, and you will have many more moments to share."_

"Yes Saphira-elda." The two responded in unison.

Eragon felt a twinge of regret as Saphira turned and resumed their flight home. He felt Saphira's concern in the back of his mind but did not answer her. A flash of his old teacher asserted itself again in his mind, and soon the gloom returned. So many people had died to teach him that lesson. _"You want to know why?"_

"_I know. I just wonder if you do Eragon."_

"_All we have left is our duty. To our teachers. To our students. I will not see them come to harm, if we have to shower the world in fire and blood to do it. I have seen too much death to allow it to break all that is left to us. Others will do their share of the dying from now on."_

"_I know Eragon. I just wonder if you will not bring conflict upon us. We could start a war if we are not careful."_

"_Let it come."_


End file.
